Educator Programs
Explore webinars to discover tools and techniques for using digital museum resources in your classroom.
Cultivating Learning: Celebrating America at 250
View all our highlighted events about diversity in creating learning programs.
Celebrating America at 250
In this special Cultivating Learning series, Smithsonian educators share teaching techniques and resources that help tell the story of America's 250th. The series celebrates well-known people, events, and accomplishments of our nation and also provides opportunities to discuss lesser-told histories that together form our national narrative. Join us to explore strategies for using digital museum resources to support student learning at this milestone moment in American history. You’ll leave with a collection of techniques and ideas to help students think critically, recognize their own value, appreciate others’ perspectives, and gain confidence to be engaged learners.
Miss Liberty Celebration, Malcah Zeldis, 1987, Smithsonian American Art Museum.
Unpacking Symbol and Story in Gilbert Stuart’s Portrait of George Washington
Wednesday, September 17, 4:00 PM EST
Join Briana Zavadil White, head of education and public programs at the National Portrait Gallery, for an engaging look at the Lansdowne portrait of George Washington by Gilbert Stuart. Together, we’ll practice close-looking strategies that help students uncover meaningful details and symbols within the painting. These techniques can spark rich conversations about early American identity and leadership. Participants will leave with ready-to-use resources and activities that make portraiture a dynamic gateway to exploring the past.
Defining Freedom Amongst Ideas of Liberty
Wednesday, October 15, 4:00 PM EST
Join the National Museum of African American History and Culture to explore how the concept of liberty and freedom manifested for African Americans in the Revolutionary and New Nation eras. Together we will discover individual and community actions against slavery during these early periods. You will leave with resources and discussion prompts to deepen the story of the founding of the United States and the complex nature of liberty.
Investigating Objects: From Inquiry to Action
Wednesday, November 19, 4:00 PM EST
Many voices of the American people have contributed to and continue to shape the nation and its communities, from its earliest beginnings to the present. Join Orlando Serrano of the National Museum of American History (NMAH) to consider how material culture can be a point of departure for inquiry, analysis, research, and information sharing. Orlando shares techniques developed from his time as a classroom teacher and in his role as Head of PreK-12 Learning at NMAH. You’ll leave with resources to activate learning in your classroom and a deeper understanding of the never-ending process to become one nation.
Exploring our Sightlines: Integrating Local Stories across Subject Areas
Wednesday, December 17, 4:00 PM EST
Join the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center’s Education Team to explore a new virtual tour experience based on the exhibition Sightlines: Chinatown and Beyond. During its run at the Smithsonian American Art Museum from September 2024 to November 2025, Sightlines provides visitors with glimpses into the complexity and depth of Asian American connections to Washington, D.C., across time. Through artwork, material culture, images, and other graphic material from Smithsonian collections and local D.C. community members, this session will address the importance of multicultural storytelling and emphasize how local places can be integrated into any school subject area. You’ll leave with actionable strategies to help students explore the importance of documenting local places and connect to national histories and movements.
Investigating Civic Ideals through Art
Wednesday, January 21, 4:00 PM EST
Join Phoebe Hillemann of the Smithsonian American Art Museum to explore artworks as visual metaphors that can deepen students’ understanding of civics. We’ll interpret three artworks together and discuss what each one adds to our understanding of the phrase “We the People.” You’ll leave with teaching strategies that encourage active participation and critical thinking, and also learn how to receive a free classroom teaching poster featuring new civics-focused lesson ideas.
Rising to STEAM Challenges
Wednesday, February 18, 4:00 PM EST
Space exploration reflects America’s desire to push scientific understanding and technological innovation. Join educators from the National Air and Space Museum to learn about aviation and space heroines who rose to the challenges of their fields and participate in a design challenge with materials from home. We’ll talk about helping students tackle STEAM challenges in the classroom, from your early finishers to learners who need more scaffolding. You’ll leave with activity ideas and strategies to push students to iterate even after they’ve met their design goals.
Leading the Way: Native Women from Revolution to the Future
Wednesday, March 18, 4:00 PM EST
In many Native cultures, it is common for women to hold leadership roles in society. Join Renée Gokey, from the National Museum of the American Indian, to explore a new teaching poster that focuses on three Native American women whose actions were historically significant during the American Revolution. You'll leave with a deeper understanding of the important contributions of Konwatsi’tsiaienni, a Mohawk leader of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy; Nanye’hi, a Cherokee Beloved Woman; and Nonhelema, a Shawnee Peace Chief and learn ways to tie history to contemporary Native culture.
Building Civic Engagement with Postage Stamps
Wednesday, April 15, 4:00 PM EST
Join Phoebe Sherman of the National Postal Museum to explore how postage stamps can be used in the classroom to encourage civic awareness and engagement. We’ll examine how stamps can spark curiosity and deepen understanding of civics, American history, national identity, and commemoration by using thinking routines that focus on both subject matter and artistic design. You’ll see how these approaches come to life with students and leave with classroom-ready resources and fresh ideas for incorporating postage stamps into your teaching practice.
Promoting STEAM Innovation and Invention in the Classroom
Wednesday, May 20, 4:00 PM EST
Join Nyssa Buning of the National Museum of American History’s Spark!Lab and Carol O’Donnell of the Smithsonian Science Education Center to explore strategies for cultivating an inventive mindset in your students. We’ll discuss the history of STEAM innovation in America and try an open-ended invention challenge that uses object-based learning techniques to encourage creative problem solving and support curiosity and perseverance, skills essential to inventors throughout history. You’ll leave with a set of facilitation tools to support students as they develop their own inventive identity and become future problem-solvers. You’ll also receive access to a newly released e-book from the Smithsonian Science Education Center, STEAM Innovation: Celebrating Our Nation's 250 Years.
Fostering Civic Action in Youth
Wednesday, June 17, 4:00 PM EST
As America turns 250 in 2026, young people are writing its next chapter. Join a group of educators who apply interdisciplinary approaches to learning to engage young people in civic dialogue tied to their communities. Through a range of Smithsonian programs and resources, youth interact with historical and contemporary sources to understand their local histories while also contemplating a future that is shaped in response to present-day priorities. These programs support youth in developing stronger civic identities and encourage them to take active roles in preserving and protecting the rich histories within the communities where they live.
View Series
Explore our vast library of archived webinars to discover even more tools for how to use digital museum resources for learning.
Cultivating Learning: Digital Museum Resources and the Smithsonian Learning Lab
In this professional development series, join educators as they model teaching techniques for using digital museum resources to support student learning in diverse learning environments. You’ll learn new methods to help students think critically, recognize their own value, appreciate others’ perspectives, and gain confidence to be engaged, passionate learners.
Easy PZ
Easy PZ with the Smithsonian: How to Engage Your Students with Project Zero Thinking Routines Easy-to-use approaches to improve student thinking. This 30 minute webinar, with the Smithsonian American Art Museum's Phoebe Hillemann, models how to facilitate a Project Zero Thinking Routine that encourages learners to distinguish between observation and interpretation, while nurturing a learner's curiosity.
